Chapter 68 of 100

Chapter 68

13 min read3,262 words

Poor Sanbei asked, "Sir, do you have any more brilliant plans?"

Xu Feng smiled and said, "Come closer." He then whispered his plan.

Back at home, Xu Feng called Liu Dazhuang over and said, "Dazhuang, do you know about the Russians building a railway here?"

Liu Dazhuang replied, "Of course I've heard about it. My mother told me that the Russians are building a railway here, which is like a weasel paying a New Year's visit to chickens—nothing good will come of it!" In Northeast China, people often refer to weasels as "yellow weasels."

Xu Feng was surprised that Liu Dazhuang's mother, a rural woman who had never traveled far, could have such insight. Liu Dazhuang continued, "My mother said we must find a way to stop the Russians from building the railway on our land."

Xu Feng smiled and said, "I have a plan. Tonight, we will..."

On a cold December night in Northeast China, the wind howled as Xu Feng, Liu Dazhuang, and Poor Sanbei, under the cover of darkness, arrived at the railway construction site. The method of laying modern railway tracks was not much different from that of the early 19th century, except for the materials used. The process involved first creating a ballast with gravel, then burying half or more of the sleepers into the ballast to secure them, and finally installing the rails with rivets on the sleepers to complete the track. This was done to prevent the ballast from being damaged by the weight of trains.

In modern railway construction, to save wood, concrete sleepers are used. However, in the 19th century, this was not an issue, so the Russians used wooden sleepers. They first laid the sleepers and then the steel rails. Therefore, there was a long stretch of ballast with only sleepers and no rails. Xu Feng looked at the wood and asked, "Is this wood from Jingling Mountain?"

Liu Dazhuang squatted down and carefully tapped the wood, saying, "Yes."

Xu Feng smiled and said, "Dig!"

The three of them dug out a sleeper from the ballast. Xu Feng took a ruler borrowed from a village tailor and measured the original position of the sleeper, saying, "Move this sleeper seven inches to the side."

The three of them moved the sleeper seven inches to the side. They repeated this process for five more sleepers. Xu Feng said, "That's enough. It's getting late. Let's go back and get some sleep. We'll come back tomorrow to see the commotion."

The next morning, around nine o'clock, the three of them secretly returned to the railway section they had tampered with. Despite the commotion caused by Poor Sanbei the previous day, there were still many Chinese onlookers. The railway construction vehicle was parked on the tracks, but no work was being done. The Russian guards were still diligently watching over the site.

However, Xu Feng noticed that a Chinese-looking man was measuring something with a ruler near the tampered sleepers. He appeared to be an engineer, with black hair and eyes, short hair, and dressed similarly to the Russians. The workers also looked the same.

Xu Feng was puzzled and thought, "Who are these people? Could they be Japanese?"

Xu Feng's guess was correct. These people were indeed from Japan. The Russians, being few in number, faced a shortage of labor for the railway construction. After a series of conflicts in Northeast China, they were wary of hiring local Chinese workers, fearing unnecessary trouble. After negotiations with higher-ups, the Russians hired a large number of Japanese workers. At the time, land consolidation in Japan was severe, and the large number of landless farmers posed a significant problem for the Japanese government. Thus, both sides reached an agreement.

Of course, the Japanese had ulterior motives. Some of these Japanese workers were actually members of quasi-military organizations. They ostensibly helped the Russians with construction but secretly gathered intelligence on Northeast China.

The engineer's name was Kikusaburo, a graduate of Tokyo Imperial University and a fervent anti-Chinese activist. He had joined several anti-Chinese groups in Japan and zealously advocated for an attack on China.

The sleepers had been moved, making it impossible to lay the tracks. If the distance between the sleepers was uneven, it could cause stress concentration on a particular section of the track when a train passed, leading to track damage and derailment.

Kikusaburo measured the sleepers and told the Russian supervisor, "Five sleepers have been moved approximately 23 centimeters."

The supervisor frowned and said, "What's going on? 23 centimeters, that's about 'seven inches' in Chinese. The term 'seven inches' is used by the Chinese to describe a vital point. Is this a warning to us? Could it be that we have offended the Chinese spirits?"

Kikusaburo laughed and said, "I think it's those evil Chinese causing trouble! Look, only five sleepers were moved, which means they are few in number, no more than three. If it were the spirits, why would they only move five sleepers? Wouldn't it be better to move more?"

The supervisor stroked his few remaining yellow hairs on his bald head and nodded, saying, "Mr. Kikusaburo, your analysis is very insightful. The wisdom of your people is indeed profound."

Kikusaburo laughed and said, "Sir, you flatter me. Japan is a country of wisdom, destined to be the ruler of Asia from the moment of its civilization."

The Russian supervisor seemed uninterested in his rhetoric and smiled as he went to direct the workers to resume work. Xu Feng, who understood Russian, heard every word and thought, "Those little devils are really persistent! They're everywhere!"

At that moment, a fast horse galloped from the east, with a Russian soldier on it. The soldier jumped off the horse before it had even stopped and panted, "There's trouble at the lumber yard. To prevent any mishaps, the higher-ups have ordered you to return to the base immediately!"

The supervisor, upon hearing this, quickly called everyone to board the railway vehicle and return. Kikusaburo angrily said, "Are the Chinese causing trouble again?"

The Russian soldier hurriedly replied, "Yes, they are preventing us from cutting down the trees in the mountains and have injured some of our men."

Kikusaburo picked up a shovel from the ground, brandished it, and said in Japanese to the group of Japanese workers, "Citizens of the Great Japanese Empire, pick up your shovels, picks, and crowbars, and fight like samurais. Give those Chinese pigs a taste of our power!"

The group of about thirty Japanese workers, upon hearing this, picked up their tools and followed Kikusaburo. The Chinese onlookers, not understanding a word, gradually dispersed in confusion.

Poor Sanbei asked Xu Feng, "Sir, did our plan work? The Russians are scared and are leaving, aren't they?"

Xu Feng had heard about the incident but did not understand Kikusaburo's last words in Japanese. He asked Poor Sanbei, "Where is the Russian lumber yard?"

Poor Sanbei replied, "It's at the western entrance of Jingling Mountain, about twenty miles from here."

Xu Feng pointed in the direction the Japanese had gone and asked, "Is there any other way to get there besides this road?"

Liu Dazhuang interjected, "Yes, but it's a longer route, about thirty miles."

After some thought, Xu Feng said, "I need to go to the lumber yard. Can you show me the way?"

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